Early Phillies Opening Day Roster Projection Includes Potential Mystery Man

With the first weekend of Phillies spring training games in the books, let's try our hand at an early Opening Day 26-man roster projection.

Catchers (2)

J.T. Realmuto enters Year 8 as the Phillies' starting catcher. He again led the majors last season in innings caught, this time by 40. Since becoming the Phillies' catcher in 2019, he has caught 1,183 more innings than anyone else in the majors.

Over time, Realmuto's offensive performance has dipped. He hit .271/.338/.473 his first four seasons with the Phillies, averaging 19 HR and 68 RBI. He has hit .257/.315/.421 the last three seasons, averaging 15 HR and 54 RBI.

Realmuto feels healthier this spring after dealing with nicks and bruises all year in 2025 — foot, groin, finger. Catcher is the most demanding position of them all between the squatting and the perpetual risk of taking a foul ball off one body part or another. Realmuto quietly does the job, year after year without drawing attention to the many factors that can cause a catcher's bat to slip.

The reason he still plays so much is because there remains a wide gap between Realmuto and his backups. Rafael Marchan was the primary backup in 2025 and likely will be again in 2026. Both he and Garrett Stubbs are out of minor-league options, with the 26-year-old Marchan more likely to be plucked away on waivers than the 32-year-old Stubbs.

The most time Realmuto has missed in any season as a Phillie came in 2024 when he required meniscus surgery when the team returned from a trip to London in early June. He missed about six weeks and the Phillies went 17-15.

Prediction: Realmuto and Marchan

Infielders (5)

This is a very obvious position group, one of the easiest to project in MLB.

Bryce Harper will enter Year 8 as a Phillie and Year 4 at first base.

Bryson Stott remains one of baseball's best defensive second basemen, a Gold Glove finalist in 2023 and 2024. Is this the year he wins it? The last three have gone to Nico Hoerner and Brice Turang.

Shortstop Trea Turner made huge improvements last season, cutting his error total to eight in 139 games. He committed 40 combined in his prior two years with the Phillies.

And Alec Bohm enters his seventh and probably final season as the Phillies' starting third baseman, barring a massive career year that alters the team's plans. A trade candidate each of the last two offseasons, Bohm will earn $10.2 million in 2026. He's as important this year as any Phillie since he's expected to be the primary right-handed cleanup option behind Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

The utilityman, of course, is Edmundo Sosa, who also enters his final year under contract. Sosa has been such a solid and versatile extra man the last four years for the Phillies, improving offensively each full season he's been here. He plays a smooth, above-average shortstop and is not the kind of player you worry about if forced into starting duty for two or three weeks.

Prediction: Harper, Stott, Turner, Bohm, Sosa

Infield/Outfield (1)

Otto Kemp goes here because he can and will play left field in addition to third base, first base and maybe a little second base.

The most consistent starting spot for Kemp would seem to be left field against left-handed pitching when Brandon Marsh sits. Kemp's on-base percentage against lefties in his final two minor-league seasons was over .400 and the Phillies are hoping that translates somewhat in his first full major-league year as a platoon option.

If Kemp were to suffer an injury in spring training, the Phillies also have in camp veteran utilityman Dylan Moore, the former longtime Seattle Mariner. And the next first baseman down the depth chart would be Keaton Anthony, a 24-year-old, contact-based right-handed hitter who's batted over .300 at every minor-league level.

Prediction: Kemp

Outfield (5)

Four of these spots are obvious. Marsh will start in left field, Justin Crawford in center and Adolis Garcia in right.

Schwarber started eight games in left field last season and five the year before, and the Phillies will ideally DH him 150-plus times in 2026.

The final outfield spot is up for grabs between Johan Rojas, who would serve a purpose as a late-inning pinch-runner and defensive replacement, or Bryan De La Cruz, who is hoping to show enough right-handed pop this spring to win a job.

De La Cruz will play a ton this spring and was the only Phillie to start each of their first two games over the weekend, going 1-for-5 with a single and three strikeouts.

Offense from that final bench spot would seem to be slightly more important than defense and baserunning, so the early hunch here is De La Cruz, but keep in mind that position could just as easily go to an interesting outfielder dropped by another team in spring training.

The recent example that comes to mind was 2023 when the Phillies acquired Cristian Pache from the Athletics the day before the season began. Pache took the roster spot of Dalton Guthrie, who seemed like a lock toward the end of camp.

Prediction: Marsh, Crawford, Garcia, Schwarber, De La Cruz (or someone else)

Starting pitchers (5)

The opening day rotation, barring injury in camp, will include Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter and Taijuan Walker.

Sanchez and Luzardo seem likely to be split up since they're the only two lefties in the rotation. That could mean an opening series rotation against the Rangers of Sanchez, Nola, Luzardo in that order. It will also be interesting to see who slots in as the "No. 4" in name only between Painter and Walker.

The Phillies hope to have Zack Wheeler back in late April or May, and when he returns this will again be one of baseball's best starting staffs. Especially if Painter, 23 on April 10, shows the command he had before undergoing Tommy John surgery three years ago. Last season was his first full one back from TJ and command is often the final thing to return. His velocity remains upper-90s.

Beyond Wheeler and their projected Opening Day five, the Phillies have little starting pitching depth in camp. Two of the only extra starters, Bryse Wilson and Alan Rangel, started two of the first three Grapefruit League games.

It will still make sense for the Phillies to add another starting pitcher for depth purposes before the season begins. It could be someone cut by another team. The Phillies cannot offer regular starts but they can offer the seventh spot on their SP depth chart, which may be higher than other clubs can who've already accrued some depth.

Prediction: Sanchez, Luzardo, Nola, Painter, Walker

Relievers (8)

The locks are Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering and Jonathan Bowlan, the right-hander acquired from the Kansas City Royals for Matt Strahm.

Kerkering has dealt with some hamstring tightness early in camp.

The other two bullpen spots are an open competition, with at least one of those jobs likely going to a reliever with minor-league options remaining so that the Phillies can cycle in a fresh arm when needed.

The relievers in play with options left are LHP Kyle Backhus and righties Max Lazar, Seth Johnson, Chase Shugart and Nolan Hoffman.

Relievers in play who do not have options left are veterans Lou Trivino, Trevor Richards, LHP Tim Mayza and LHP Genesis Cabrera.

And then there's Rule 5 pick Zach McCambley, whose roster status basically mirrors that of a pitcher out of minor-league options. If the Phillies don't carry him on the Opening Day roster (minus an injury), he would have to be passed through waivers and then offered back to the Marlins for $50,000 before the Phils would have a chance to keep him in their organization.

McCambley pitched a scoreless inning Saturday in Dunedin, striking out Nathan Lukes looking at a 96 mph fastball, walking Ernie Clement, inducing a groundout of Andres Gimenez and a weak flyout by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a perfectly executed low-and-away slider.

Backhus, a submarining lefty, was the third Phillies pitcher used in Sunday's spring home opener. He went 1-2-3 with a strikeout and two groundouts.

The early prediction here is McCambley, because of his Rule 5 status and minor-league success against right-handed hitters, and Backhus because of his unique delivery, deception and optionality.

Prediction: Duran, Keller, Alvarado, Banks, Kerkering, Bowlan, McCambley, Backhus